T3 – 7 Pro-tips on Executing a Textbook Volley

By Kyle Mollison, USPTA

Continental Grip

You simply cannot hit an effective volley if you aren’t in the continental grip. It allows you to dig out low volleys and stick high volleys; no other grip will let you do that.

Always See The Racquet

Volleys don’t have a swing. When you prepare to hit a volley your racquet should always be in your peripheral vision; if you can’t see it, you’ve taken the racquet too far back.

Footwork Footwork Footwork

If footwork were fun it would be called footjoy, but unfortunately footwork is instrumental when volleying, just like in the rest of the sport. When you push your racquet forward to volley, the opposite foot should also be moving forward.

Don’t Pop the Booty

This isn’t a Nicki Minaj music video, save sticking the booty out for the dancefloor. Bring what your momma gave ya forward with your feet as you hit the volley.

Push From Your Shoulder, Not Your Wrist

This is the most common mistake players make when hitting volleys. The volley is driven forward from the shoulder while the elbow and wrist stay relatively calm. A good way to check and feel that is to place your non-dominant hand over your dominant shoulder and hit some forehand volleys. If you are doing it correctly you should feel your shoulder press against your hand.

Think Crisp, Not Hard

Volleys, even ones that are meant to be hit as winners, are not a power shot. Focus on making good clean and crisp contact rather than smacking the ball as hard as you can.

Aim Is Important

Aiming is important. In particular, the further you are from the net hitting a volley, the more conservative your target should be. As you get closer to the net you can start to aim for smaller, more angled targets.